Wayne D. Pickette

principal papers

hardware
The Microcomputer is a chip like the 4004, which did not really require any other chips to function as a CPU, the other chip, simulated other functions altogether; the 4002 was the Ram and I/O, the 4001 was ROM and output and the 4002 was an output-only shift-register.Even the Pentium IV is organized with the CPU and its Registers, Cache, the RAM and ROM are outside of the CPU!

The 4004 demo board only used the 4004 and 4002, the ROM was simulated with the I1701 EPROM. The multiplexed bus made it impossible to simulate the read/write functions of the Ram with logic in the same space as the 4002. It could have been done though.
Now, to simulate the actual 4004 would have taken most of a card that size in logic by itself.

Of course, the benefits of the 1701 EPROM in a development situation could not be outclassed in any form! That is the same organization as that on the diagram from early 1968, a CPU with it's Registers and the RAM (working memory), ROM (program memory) and I/O outside!

A Single Chip Computer is like the 8048, where the ROM or EPROM Program memory, RAM working memory, CPU and Registers are on one piece of silicon! That did not occur until 1975.

software

keywords

see also

related subjects
Ray Holt, built what is called a slice computer where he used several elements such as the 74818 and others to make a computer of expandable word width... This is not at MICRO-COMPUTER-BY-ANY MEANS! Once you go outside of one chip for the main control of the organization; al Registers, Program Counter, Arithmetic on one piece of silicon, you are outside the realm of the Microcomputer.

Pickette conceptualized the design for putting a computer on a chip, 1968.

He participated in the development of the first Microcomputer.

He introduced the Boys of Apple to computing, they were members of the Itty-Bitty computer-club at Foothill College.

He set up the PDP-10 Computer in 21 days for the INTEL Engineers to utilize to design the 8085 (1972).

He was the first to utilize Switches as a Backbone to Servers, 1994.

One of the first with Interactive WEB Education in Mathematics, 1998.

Biography

He graduated from San Martin, Ca. Elementary School.

He initially proposed his revolutionary design to Fairchild Semiconductor in 1968, but Fairchild declined. After Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore left Fairchild to form Intel, Pickette again pitched his idea. This time, of course, Intel bought the computer-on-a-chip design, which turned out to be the holy grail for all processors to come. Not only Intel.

Intel hired Pickette, and he joined Ted Hoff's team, working on the Busicom project.

The chip Hoff, Stan Mazor, and others designed became the 4004 processor.

Pickette introduced the Intel 4004 in Las Vegas, Nev. in 1971.

Chronology

Late in 1962, he decided to begin the study of electronics. He began to reserve technical books through the Santa Clara County Bookmobile. Soon he was reading five to six books per week.

1964 disenchanted him with the library system as a means to study Technical materials.
He decided to design an up-to-date broadcast system, which utilized Television to distribute materials to many views with individual user control of their page presentation. He began to determine the actual components necessary to accomplish this feat. A computer figured in the arrangement to allow random page selection by many users, at remote locations. In addition: A computer was delivered to Live Oak High School, and he had a chance access it and evaluate it. His Father began to build a Laboratory and Machine Shop for him on the Ranch, a reasonable distance from the house, of course.

His design progressed until it became too complex to perform the calculations by hand. The Chemistry Science Professor at Live Oak High School introduced him to two Scientists at Berkeley Radiation Laboratories. He met them, became, an understudy. In addition, they provided him with a version of ECAP in FORTRAN II. They also arranged for him to have access on the Math Department IBM 1620 in the basement of Birge Hall, on the U.C. Berkeley Campus.

His design progressed. By 1967, he had evaluated and constructed the means to capture, store and distribute the material. He used an Image-Vidicon to read Super-8 film, stored that video on .75" Tape traversely scanned. When read, the Video Pages would be copied from the big tape to a circulating tape-loop, which repeated the pages as necessary for broadcast. He utilized Channel 3 in the VHF band, and a delay line box at the TV recorded the page and held it on the screen until the next page arrived.
The video-buffer box could encode dial pulses to dial the telephone of the computer and command the computer through those pulses once the connection was complete.
All that remained was how to organize the control of these functions in a coordinated manner. He also saw the requirement to increase the density of his storage main storage. In his research, he came up with a means to make magnetic tape with two recording sides.

By the late of 1966 his ECAP data set was so enormous that the 1620 crunched on it from 4 a.m. Saturday till 7 p.m. Sunday, his window for utilization of the 1620 was from Midnight Friday till Midnight Sunday. He was not able to receive the printout, which progressed at one line before the Midnight Shutdown. Another friend was attempting to get him some time on an IBM 7094 at the San Jose Plant. This did not pan out.

Right in the middle of this project, just before he received that outrageous telephone call from the Lawyer representing that Professor at the University of South Carolina, he read the science fiction novel "I Robot", he decided that humanoid Robots could be made by the end of the current Century or just beyond that.

He was also checking different so-called Minicomputers to see which could best match the 1620 or better it's performance. He also had a spending cap of $ 10,000, which had been worked out, between his Father and himself. He decided to evaluate and or purchase one at the Wescon show in San Francisco that spring of 1967.

He arrived at the Wescon show, with a paper printout of the calculation core of his ECAP program. He intended to purchase the computer that ran the program if it could. Two of the companies refused to allow him to run his program on their computers. Two allowed him to do it. After running the program on one computer, he decided it was in the right price range and was fast enough. He purchased the DEC PDP-8/S.

He studied the PDP-8/S because it required maintenance, and he could not afford the visits of the service guy, who had to travel 50 miles and never arrived before 11 a.m. the next day! He began to study Logic, once because he saw it as the means to control his video presentations and to maintain this computer. By the time he actually went to DEC School in the winter of 1967 he already knew everything about the computer and was writing assembly language programs for it.

Received the specification of the newly developed Fairchild 74181 Arithmetic and Logic chip in the mail ,he decided this chip could form the core of a computer with supporting logic. He then set about the design of this computer.

He produced a logic block diagram depicting an organization to reduce a PDP-8/S to chip size with some architectural enhancements. He began the design just before leaving for Boston, worked on it in Boston and completed it by mid-January of 1968. By February, he was calling Fairchild and Hewlett Packard about the concept; one flatly turned him down, the other never returned the call.

His mentor, Mr. A. Rock, of San Francisco, had called and asked him how the approach to Fairchild had gone. After he told him, they gave him the cold-shoulder, he suggested he should apply to IBM for employment. He did, and they refused him on the basis that he was not a College Student.

Mr. Rock called again to find out how IBM had gone; when he told him he was refused he said OK and then hung up. Two weeks later IBM called and wanted to discuss position and salary for the summer of 1968. If his application to IBM can be found, he listed the computer on a chip as one of his projects.

He participated in the implementation of the first Automated Integrated Circuit Simulation and Design System. Initially a PDP-8 Computer was used to drive a crudely automated film cutting table. Later developments moved the design, simulation and plotting completely in-house.
A final system developed by a newly formed firm, CALMA Corporation, that assumed the development of those functions during 1974.

He pioneered and advocated the first microprocessor Chip & family.
He initiated the idea in 1968, despite initial and continuing opposition, he persisted. He was invited to INTEL by' the CEO at that time, Dr. Robert Noyce, who after reviewing his block schematic then introduced him to Dr. Marcian Hoff, INTEL Director of Research & Development. He was hired April 13, 1970, he was not required to sign any Patent Agreement with INTEL.
He discusses the Busicom project with Dr. Hoff on several occasions. When he was advised of the multi-chip Calculator design cost considerations he convinced Dr. Hoff to consider the Microchip for the task seriously. He participated in the Instruction Set and Logic Function Definition Then he worked on the demonstration model for the chip. He set up a macro-assembler for the 4004 on his PDP-8 computer by redefining the assembler mnemonics to those of the 4004. He then wrote an Octal to Hex conversion; he then proceeded to assemble the first programs for the 4004. The EPROM was discovered just in time, and it was immediately incorporated into the demo model. A second project developed to build a programmer for the I1701 EPROM. These functions were all demonstrated in Las Vegas. Afterward he assisted in the implementation of the first microcomputer Chip Family through 1971. He performed the initial marketing effort with the help of leaflet distribution on the show floor by INTEL Staff (Stanley Mazor); he introduced and presented the micro on a small borrowed table in a hotel suite rented by INTEL Memory Systems, at the 1971 Fall Joint Computer Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was an immediate success!

He designed, under contract, the computer controls for the first low-cost retrofit system for Automatic Ink Mixing and paper alignment for WEB type Printing Presses. Using the Money from the WEB Printing contract, WALMOR DATA SYSTEMS was formed. As one of the developing partners in a two man design team, they produced the first Universal EPROM& microcomputer Programmer. This programmer was delivered with multi-protocol
(32 separate formats) dual-port communications capability. It was the first and only device with these features and gained a great amount of interest.

He unsuccessfully attempted to purchase Fairchild Semiconductor Systems, with a bid which was right on the money! With the Solomon Brothers (Chicago) backing, they approached
Schlumber J. of Boston, holder of Fairchild Semiconductor Division at the time, with a bid of
$ 102 million to purchase the Fairchild Semiconductor Division.
Finally, National Semiconductor was selected because of the implied storm of litigation facing Fairchild at the time, the settlement price was exactly $ 102 million!

He conceived of Work-Trak, a bar code driven Work in Progress reporting system. Work-Trak qualified for free advertising in four publications. The Work-Trak Product gained greater than 3000 inquiries from around the world. Only $ 495.00 was spent on advertising, rent of a 4x5 Camera, purchase of film, processing of film, telephone and postage.

Purchase orders were accepted for six systems totaling over $ 200,000.00 sales. The product could not be delivered due to several reasons. The company was shut down and the offices were vacated in August of 1990. I met and married a Russian, Dr. of Mathematics after the Russian Autovaz Plant sent a Telex inquiry concerning Work-Trak. I met my wife Anna in the quest to supply the Autovaz with the user's manuals for the device, in Russian.

Management Services Company initially was formed as a subsidiary of International Research. When IRC was disbanded Management Services became a sole entity. 1990-1996
Management Services Company sells computers, cellular telephones, VHF Radios, fax machines, Computer - Networks. Computer upgrades on a referral basis only.
They continue, receiving several contracts to develop and/or improve computer networking at various institutions. Some third world prompted investigations and medical device developments have been performed on a speculative basis. Several developments have occurred in various fields of Education and Robotics.

EDService, Ltd. initially formed to provide Mathematical Education via the Internet
is now in the process of refurbishing the Website. In addition, some thought have
been into providing English Writing and Composition skill training over the same media.
The Website is scheduled to be available in early 1st quarter of 2001.

Honors and awards